We have started our first ambulatory assessment study, this study consists of 10 subjects, five with burnout and five without burnout, data will be collected for a 14-day time period. This first ambulatory assessment was made possible through our partner the psy-bern AG. Subjects are given multiple questionnaires, which are used in todays clinical and ambulatory settings, we also developed our own questionnaires in app together with the psy-bern AG. Subjects also receive hardware such as a Smartphone (with our App installed), a Polar H10 chest belt (sponsored by Polar Switzerland), multiple accelerometer sensors and a bed sensor. In the end we will use this first trial dataset to model and predict stress.

We want to thank Polar Switzerland for loaning us ten Polar H10 chest belts for our first clinical trials in June of 2018.

The Polar H10 is one of the most accurate hear rate monitors matching the accuracy of medical grade ECG devices. It not only has excellent accuracy but also a 400h battery life, which makes it the ideal hardware tool for our clinical trials.

For more information about the Polar H10 see the details directly from Polar.

A study discovered that mid-life stress and anxiety may be closely tied to late-life dementia risk. The reasons are yet unknown, but the correlation was well researched with a 30'000 people sample size.

The stress epidemic is on the rise in Switzerland the increase of absenteeism increased by 20 percent in the last 5-years. Absenteeism for psychological illnesses increased by 35 percent, our experts mentioned that stress is the root cause for this significant increase.

After the data being published Switzerland's media was buzzing on Saturday, April the 22. 2018. The articles are in German: Tagesanzeiger and Blick reported. The NZZ Published report (here - free registration required to read the report) the day before, on which the news reports are based. This trend significantly accelerates the health-related cost explosion in Switzerland. Psychological illnesses now account for CHF 20 billion per year.

The Universities of Applied Sciences in Bern and Zurich conducted a three-year (2014-2016) study and discovered, that a quarter of all Swiss employees are stressed and exhausted. It's important to note that absenteeism is only the tip of the iceberg, on-the-job inefficiencies caused by high-stress cost twice as much as absenteeism costs.

Wearables are no longer just activity trackers or tools that are being used by athletes to monitor their performance. Here is a prime example of a wearable device that received medical verification. This particular device received FDA approval as a medical device to measure ECG/EKG data from the wrist. It is an add-on for the Apple Watch in the form of a wristband. This device enhances the capabilities of the Apple Watch to detect heart problems, if you want more information about it, you can find it here on TechCrunch.

AliveCor isn't the first device to receive the FDA stamp, and the FDA is speeding up the process for more wearables as well as apps to obtain approval. The digital health industry is proliferating and these are first examples of a government to accepting and embracing this new reality. This first pilot program, and hopefully not only program, is intended for tech companies to bring products faster to market.

Switzerland's compulsory health insurance premiums will rise by almost five percent for the next year. The Santésuisse reported that the cost to insurers had risen "excessively" in 2016 to CHF 31.5 billion. You can read the full article at The Local ch. This is becoming troublesome for some households, some families end up paying CHF 22,000 per year for the mandatory basic health insurance, which is more than 20 percent of their household income. Compulsory health insurance premiums came into force in 1996, since then the average yearly cost for the insurance premiums increased by 4.6 percent, which is much higher than inflation. In 1996 the average monthly health insurance invoice was CHF 173, in 2016 it was CHF 428. The full article can also be read at The Local ch.

This problem isn't isolated to Switzerland, health care costs are rising everywhere. In the U.S. the health care costs in 2015 were $3.2 trillion or about 18 percent of the nations GDP, in comparison to the 1960s U.S. health care spending was only 5 percent of the GDP. The full article is available at the balance.

Mental health costs are especially on the rise, this has to do with the de-stigmatization of seeing a mental health professional, more awareness given to the topic in the media, and better access to mental health services. For the first time ever the University of Zurich researched the cost of mental health and discovered that mental disorders are among the most burdensome of all disease groups. The estimated cost of mental disorder in Switzerland is CHF 15 billion per year, that's CHF 2,000 per person living in the nation. If you want more information you can read the report at Swissinfo.

The reason for the high cost of mental health is because of the long duration of treatment.